Hey!
I also have had chest pains. For years they could not find anything wrong. Then, because I have Fibromyalgia, before I found a good doc that doesn't use powerfull pain meds that do not help Fibromyalgia, I was put on a very high dose of Darvocett. It gave me an esophigial ulcer, and I thought I was dying, and so did my family! Now I am completely recovered from the Ulcer, but my chest pains remain, and are worse during times of high stress. There is no longer an Ulcer, and the Ultrasound proved it. I took Lexapro for a while, and had absolutely no complaints, but I only took 10 mg. My mom took 10 mg of Lexapro for about 4 years, and has had to go up to 20 mg, and is still not even helping her to rest. Of course she has Alzheimer's, but to tell the truth, as hard as it is to handle her, I definitely could not have done it for this long had she not had Lexapro. Lexapro is supposed to be one of the antidepressants with fewer side effects, and in my experience of taking many different ones over the last 20 years - (I do not react to medications like a lot of people, most do not even affect me period...my body is as messed up as my brain). lol... Anyway, although Lexapro is not strong enough for me, i had no side effects. Now the doc did tell me to let him know if it made my mother a zombie, but it did not. He was afraid that the higher dose would affect her negatively. Also, Lexapro is one of the few antidepressants that is safe for elderly over 67. When I started taking care of her 5 years ago, I never imagined that the same meds we all take could kill her because of her age. I asked if she could try Valium instead of Xanax because of the addictive qualities of Xanax, (I was on Valium, and it makes me more entergetic, not lethargic...), and it was explained to me that it is very dangerous for a person over 67 to take Valium because it slows thier breathing. As now, she takes 20 lexapro, and a low dose white xanax.
I am a recovered addict, and ONE of my fears is that my prescription meds will take me back down that road that I have vowed to never follow again. The doc that put me on it said it is the best one for recovered addicts. I can tell you I had NO withdrawal when I came off it, which is more than I can say for ANY other med they have tried me on. (Except Librium, which is the only one that EVER spaced me out.)
So maybe the Lexapro is not for you, but from my own experience, and because I know others who use it, it sounds like your dose was too high. The first time I was put on it was 10 mg for situational High blood pressure (imagine that in a person with constant anxiety, lol!) Although it did help the HBP, it was just not strong enough for me because my anxiety was causing my HBP. Good luck in finding a good med for you. Also remember, it takes two weeks or longer for any antidepressant to have it's full effect on a person, and some of the uncomfortable side effects go away in the second week. I'm no doc, but I have taken a large score of meds over 20 years, felt alot of side effects, and if Lexapro had been strong enough for me, I might take my meds!
Good luck again!
Tina